On November 13, Donald Trump appointed Elon Musk to head the Department of Government Efficiency. This ministry has just been invented, and it was certainly Elon Musk who whispered this idea into the president-elect’s ear. And for good reason, the organization’s acronym, DOGE, refers to one of the most emblematic memes on the web.
From meme to cryptocurrency
This meme, which you must have come across during your hours surfing the World Wide Web, is characterized by the photo of a Shiba Inu named Kabosu, with a taken aback expression, whose photo was initially posted by his Japanese mistress in 2010. The image is often accompanied by multi-colored text in Comic Sans font, which depicts an internal monologue. The term “ doge », comes from the cartoon Homestar Runner, where the character Strong Bad calls his dog that way in an episode broadcast in 2005.
The doge meme became a real sensation starting in 2013. So much so that it inspired the creation of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin, initially as a joke. The currency quickly became popular on Reddit, but it was in 2019 that its story took a new turn.
“ Dogecoin is perhaps my favorite cryptocurrency. It’s pretty cool », Tweets Elon Musk. The following year, he posted a meme about Dogecoin taking over the global financial system, causing a brief surge in its value. Moreover, the billionaire’s various tweets on this cryptocurrency have often led to fluctuations in its value, which has earned him complaints from users.
Thousands of potential layoffs
Over the years, Elon Musk has repeatedly tweeted about doge and Dogecoin, viewing the meme as “ the best humor “. He even briefly changed Twitter’s official logo to doge in April 2023. One of the accounts he retweets the most on the platform is called DogeDesigner. For their part, Tesla and SpaceX have allowed their customers to purchase products by paying in Dogecoin.
This is why designating one of the ministries of the world’s leading power in this way raises many questions. Especially since its mission could lead to the dismissal of thousands of civil servants. Elon Musk’s goal is to reduce federal government spending as much as possible, which could lead to the elimination of entire administrations..
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 14, 2024
But this reality seems far from worrying the billionaire, who is already jubilant at the idea of hearing the journalists, whom he despises so much, utter the word doge.
- The acronym of the ministry that Elon Musk will lead, DOGE, refers to one of the most popular memes on the Internet.
- This meme is also the origin of the creation of a cryptocurrency.
- The ministry will have the mission of drastically reducing the state budget.
